At His First World Championships, Yul Moldauer Wins Floor Exercise Bronze

Yul Moldauer competes on the floor exercise at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships at Olympic Stadium on Oct. 2, 2017 in Montreal.

U.S. men’s all-around gymnastics champion Yul Moldauer capped his first world championships with a bronze medal in the floor exercise final on Saturday in Montreal.

Moldauer, 21, who finished seventh in the all-around competition on Thursday for the best finish by an American man since 2013, took a small hop on his triple full but was otherwise strong in his tumbling passes and received a score of 14.500.

Japan’s Kenzo Shirai took first with a score of 15.633, followed by Israel’s Artem Dolgopyat at 14.533.

Moldauer’s score was just under the 14.7 he scored in the qualifying round, but good enough for third place. The Oklahoma junior then had to wait it out while the rest of the competitors took the floor, including teammate Donnell Whittenburg.

Whittenburg, 23, who is best known for his strength on parallel bars, rings and vault, finished second in qualifying with a 15.033 but scored a 14.166 in the final to finish in seventh place.

An alternate for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team, Whittenburg is competing in his third world championships. He previously won bronze medals in the team competition in 2014 and in the individual vault competition in 2015.

The world championships continue with men’s pommel horse and still rings, and women’s vault and uneven bars on Saturday. Men’s vault, parallel bars and high bar finals are on Sunday, along with women’s balance beam and floor exercise.

Karen Price is a reporter from Pittsburgh who has covered Olympic sports for various publications. She is a freelance contributor to TeamUSA.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.